2012 Massillon, Ohio Car Show

Much like last year, I used Father’s Day as an excuse to take my two youngest daughters to the Massillon “Cruise-on-in and Dance Party” car show. One of these years it will work out that I’ll be able to drag the whole family along, and I might actually have the Tempest out of the garage in time to drive it there. I was pleasantly surprised to see many cars that I didn’t recognize from last year. Here are some of the highlights:

I’m finding myself more and more attracted to these Bandit-era Firebirds, just as they are going up in price.

There was a time when it was moderately popular to soup up Pintos and Vegas. That time has passed.

This early-50’s Pontiac looked to be the best buy of the show. It was clean and solid, and was only $5,500 OBO.

’69 Camaros are like bellybuttons at car shows, but this one had a fantastic paint job and rally stripes that were more metalflake than paint.

I’m not sure why there was an Ozzy Osbourne-themed Buick hearse there, but I felt obligated to take a picture.

AMXs have always looked good to me, and this gold-on-gold (with matching wheels!) example was pretty sharp.

I never realized how ugly the dashboard was, though.

Despite their many flaws, it’s hard not to like the Pantera. I could do without the wheels on this one, but the paint was absolutely beautiful and flawless.

In contrast with the AMX, this is an interior I wouldn’t mind spending some time in.

A terrible shot of the Pantera’s mid-mounted Ford V8.

An old Fiat 500 and it’s gigantic (in comparison) progeny.

My love for Corvairs is well documented, but this one was a bit overpriced at $9,500, despite the nice black-on-red color scheme. I’d pay that much for a Corsa or a convertible, but not for a hardtop with an automatic.

It’s hard not to appreciate a Charger that escaped the insatiable maw of the Dukes of Hazzard, especially one with steel wheels and dog-dishes, a 440, and a four-speed.

Lastly, I’m not much for British cars, but I could see myself in a little MG. Just as long as I had a mechanic on staff to fix it after every drive.